Thursday, 8 January 2009
Joe Oliver
Optimal Life Fitness took some time out recently to ask EKI and Olympic Weightlifting for the Fitness Professional instructor Joe Oliver a few questions on his career in the fitness industry. Joe has shared some insights into the company he works for, his own thoughts on the fitness industry as well as some of his own training goals. Joe is one of our top EKI's and you may know Joe from a couple of our video clips.
OLF: Firstly Joe thanks for taking time out to share a bit about yourself, what your company is doing and what some of your own business and training goals are.
JO: Not a problem Tommy.
OLF: Let's get straight to it then. How long have you been in the fitness industry?
JO: I have been in the industry for five years and as a Personal Trainer for four years. More recently I have moved into Personal Training Management.
OLF: What are your professional goals and ambitions?
JO: I have designed and implemented a Personal Training career package for REPS Level 3 Personal Trainers looking to build a sustainable Personal Training business within the leisure sector. My professional goal is to deliver a long term financially stable business model across the UK to dedicated, and inspirational Personal Trainers who share my beliefs of the industry.
OLF:Who do you work for and what is your current role?
JO: My company is Your Personal Training UK Limited and my current role is to direct the recruitment, set-up and ongoing support and mentoring of Personal Trainers across our London territory. We are working in partnership with GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited) to provide Personal Trainers for their Central London gyms and leisure centres. We are currently recruiting for vacancies starting in 2009.
OLF: What do you think are the main reasons why some Personal Trainers find it difficult to build a long term Personal Training business within a Health Club?
JO: Having been a Personal Trainer in both the private and public health club sectors and in both Central London and the North of England I have been involved with a wide variety of different Personal Training systems. I believe the main reasons why many trainers struggle to build a sustainable business are the sheer volume of trainers in many clubs and in addition, the penetration rates in each health club. The Your Personal Training System centres around sustainability by only offering one Personal Training position per 800 active gym members in any health club, alongside high levels of sales, branding and marketing support – Your Personal Training do not believe in saturating the gym floor with PTs, which will allow all trainers to build a successful business and large client base.
OLF: You started your career as a PT, do you still find time to train clients in your busy schedule?
JO: I now only have the time to train a limited number of clients (5-10 per week), mainly due to my management commitments and my need to deliver a high quality service to my clients. I am now finding myself working 14 hour days regularly!
OLF: In your time in the fitness industry what has impressed you the most in terms of training?
JO: I would have to say undoubtebly that Kettlebells have impressed me the most in recent times. The versatility of this strength and conditioning tool is undeniable.
There are always new trends and fads coming in and out, but has there been anything that you think is here to stay? Kettlebells I am sure will be around for a very long time. Although I do think that there is a long way to go before the mass gym population can fully appreciate the benefits of the “cannon ball with a handle”. It is the responsibility of all those EKI’s out there to spread the Kettlebell word!
OLF: What type of training do you do and how do you find the time to do it?
JO: I usually manage to fit in 4 sessions per week which I now have to book into my diary to make sure I have the time! In a broader sense I use mainly Kettlebells alongside the Olympic Lifts with a functional strength training focus. With regards Kettlebells, I will train the Kettlebell Sport lifts alongside, 2 hands anyhow, Double KB Overhead Squat, KB Front Squat, Renegade Row, Double KB Sotts Press, Double KB Thrusters, Farmers Walk, Double KB Floor and Military Press amongst others.
OLF: Do you have any personal goals, ie kettlebell or OWL competitions?
JO: The goals I have set myself this year are as follows:
Barbell Overhead Squat 15 reps at bodyweight (110kg) – I might be dreaming!
Barbell Deadlift Max 250kg
Double Overhead KB Squat 40kg KBs for 15 reps
Military Press 40kg KBs for sets of 5 reps
KB Snatch 24kg 220+ reps in 10 minutes
Olympic Clean and Jerk 120kg
OLF: Wow Joe some pretty impressive goals there. Good luck with all you set out to do! We'll check in from time to time to see how you are getting on.
If any trainers out there are interested in working with Joe and Your Personal Training he is looking for trainers right now.
You can contact Joe on 07872 049 587 or joe.oliver@yourptuk.com
OLF: Firstly Joe thanks for taking time out to share a bit about yourself, what your company is doing and what some of your own business and training goals are.
JO: Not a problem Tommy.
OLF: Let's get straight to it then. How long have you been in the fitness industry?
JO: I have been in the industry for five years and as a Personal Trainer for four years. More recently I have moved into Personal Training Management.
OLF: What are your professional goals and ambitions?
JO: I have designed and implemented a Personal Training career package for REPS Level 3 Personal Trainers looking to build a sustainable Personal Training business within the leisure sector. My professional goal is to deliver a long term financially stable business model across the UK to dedicated, and inspirational Personal Trainers who share my beliefs of the industry.
OLF:Who do you work for and what is your current role?
JO: My company is Your Personal Training UK Limited and my current role is to direct the recruitment, set-up and ongoing support and mentoring of Personal Trainers across our London territory. We are working in partnership with GLL (Greenwich Leisure Limited) to provide Personal Trainers for their Central London gyms and leisure centres. We are currently recruiting for vacancies starting in 2009.
OLF: What do you think are the main reasons why some Personal Trainers find it difficult to build a long term Personal Training business within a Health Club?
JO: Having been a Personal Trainer in both the private and public health club sectors and in both Central London and the North of England I have been involved with a wide variety of different Personal Training systems. I believe the main reasons why many trainers struggle to build a sustainable business are the sheer volume of trainers in many clubs and in addition, the penetration rates in each health club. The Your Personal Training System centres around sustainability by only offering one Personal Training position per 800 active gym members in any health club, alongside high levels of sales, branding and marketing support – Your Personal Training do not believe in saturating the gym floor with PTs, which will allow all trainers to build a successful business and large client base.
OLF: You started your career as a PT, do you still find time to train clients in your busy schedule?
JO: I now only have the time to train a limited number of clients (5-10 per week), mainly due to my management commitments and my need to deliver a high quality service to my clients. I am now finding myself working 14 hour days regularly!
OLF: In your time in the fitness industry what has impressed you the most in terms of training?
JO: I would have to say undoubtebly that Kettlebells have impressed me the most in recent times. The versatility of this strength and conditioning tool is undeniable.
There are always new trends and fads coming in and out, but has there been anything that you think is here to stay? Kettlebells I am sure will be around for a very long time. Although I do think that there is a long way to go before the mass gym population can fully appreciate the benefits of the “cannon ball with a handle”. It is the responsibility of all those EKI’s out there to spread the Kettlebell word!
OLF: What type of training do you do and how do you find the time to do it?
JO: I usually manage to fit in 4 sessions per week which I now have to book into my diary to make sure I have the time! In a broader sense I use mainly Kettlebells alongside the Olympic Lifts with a functional strength training focus. With regards Kettlebells, I will train the Kettlebell Sport lifts alongside, 2 hands anyhow, Double KB Overhead Squat, KB Front Squat, Renegade Row, Double KB Sotts Press, Double KB Thrusters, Farmers Walk, Double KB Floor and Military Press amongst others.
OLF: Do you have any personal goals, ie kettlebell or OWL competitions?
JO: The goals I have set myself this year are as follows:
Barbell Overhead Squat 15 reps at bodyweight (110kg) – I might be dreaming!
Barbell Deadlift Max 250kg
Double Overhead KB Squat 40kg KBs for 15 reps
Military Press 40kg KBs for sets of 5 reps
KB Snatch 24kg 220+ reps in 10 minutes
Olympic Clean and Jerk 120kg
OLF: Wow Joe some pretty impressive goals there. Good luck with all you set out to do! We'll check in from time to time to see how you are getting on.
If any trainers out there are interested in working with Joe and Your Personal Training he is looking for trainers right now.
You can contact Joe on 07872 049 587 or joe.oliver@yourptuk.com
Labels: Interview, Joe Oliver
posted by Tommy Matthews @ 11:40
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